Nicola Call lives in the
sunshine of Northern California with her husband, three children, and a
menagerie of various pets. But her heart will always be back in England,
where she spent most of her childhood either dreaming about horses or
reading stories about them. When she wasn’t reading, Nicola was writing,
so it was no surprise to anyone that she ended up majoring in English
Literature at London University.

Once she graduated and started
teaching in London’s inner city schools, Nicola found that her joy and
creativity in the classroom became infectious, and her work was soon
being noted and quoted in educational publications. She moved swiftly
into management positions in several different schools, but it was in
the classroom that she found most satisfaction, and she researched and
read voraciously to match theory with the results that she was seeing in
the classroom.

As Nicola put theories such as
those of accelerated learning, multiple intelligences and emotional
intelligence into practice, the results astounded her. Most significant,
to Nicola, was the impact of her creative teaching methods upon student
motivation and attitude. “Often, at the beginning of the year, many
children were de-motivated, challenging in behavior, and lacking in
confidence. By the end, they were bringing me high school science books
and asking me to explain the work to them - just for fun!”

Nicola soon joined forces with
Alistair Smith, one of the first UK trainers in Accelerated Learning
techniques, combining Alistair’s training and research expertise with
her classroom experience and background as a writer. The result was ALPS
– Accelerated Learning in Primary Schools, followed by The ALPS Approach
Resource Book. “I wish ALPS had been around at the start of my career,”
says Nicola. “It is full of all the practical ideas that took me years
to accumulate, along with the theory that I had to glean from many books
and hours of reading.”

Next, Nicola collaborated with
Sally Featherstone to write The Thinking Child, which relates the theory
of brain-based learning to the Early Years. The Thinking Child, now in
its second edition (Continuum-Bloomsbury, 2010) was accompanied by The
Thinking Child Resource Book, giving practitioners a wealth of creative
suggestions to link the latest research in brain development to the best
early years practice. Most importantly, The Thinking Child stresses
giving young children the independence and freedom to discover things
for themselves, with a strong emphasis on play. “One of the things I am
most proud of,” says Nicola, “is the number of practitioners who tell me
how The Thinking Child gave them confidence to be creative in the
classroom.”

Nicola’s love of
children’s fiction led to her next project, a series of picture books
that explore the simple, everyday challenges that face young children.
Again, co-authored with Sally Featherstone, the first four titles in
this series, My Best Friend, Max’s First Day, What Natasha Can Do, and
My Big Brother, are due for release by Bloomsbury Publishing in February
2013.